Thursday, October 18, 2012

Moving Company Missteps

When planning to move, most people have a lot on their mind. It's
only natural that the process of hiring a moving company often gets put
off. After all, how much work are you going to put into it when you
have a new job to worry about, the kids' school registrations to handle,
and a million other things on your to-do list? For many people, the
search for good movers begins and ends with the phone book. But you can
do better. It's worth it, because hiring a bad team could give you a
whole new set of nightmares to deal with. Here are some of the most
common missteps and how to avoid them.
Not Getting Quotes
Is hiring a moving company all about finding the best deal?
Certainly not. It's easy to find out who is offering the best prices in
town, but cheap certainly doesn't equal good in any field. That said,
there's no reason you should overpay for the privilege of using their
services, either. Call around and get at least three or four quotes
before making a decision. This serves two purposes. One, you'll have the
option of accepting the lowest bid and two, you'll know when you hear a
price that seems way out of line.
Hiring Over the Phone
This one comes as a surprise to a lot of people, but you shouldn't
hire a moving company until they've been out to your house. Even a full
description of the property can't convey a real sense of what you need
done. Without having seen it in person, they're only going to be able to
give you a broad estimate of how much they will charge. You can bet
that price will change once they actually show up for the job. This may
be inevitable under the best of circumstances, but they'll have much
less wiggle room if they came out to the house beforehand.
Failing to Consider Subcontractors
More often than not, a moving company is going to send their own
employees out to your house to handle the process. There are some
companies, however, that are too "big time" to do that. In an effort to
get as much business as possible, these places overbook and then farm
out the jobs to subcontractors. Now all of that research you did about
their reputation is out the window. These aren't their employees. These
people may have never moved a couch before in their life. Be wary of
places that farm out their work.